KATHMANDU: The US Embassy in Kathmandu said that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) acknowledged receipt of the interpretative declaration last year.
It has also said that it agreed with the interpretative declaration and considered it to be consistent with the understanding of the terms of the Compact, including the prevalence of the Constitution of Nepal over the MCC Nepal Compact.
“MCC acknowledged receipt of the interpretative declaration last year. We agree with the interpretative declaration and consider it to be consistent with our understanding of the terms of the compact, including the prevalence of the Constitution of Nepal over the MCC Nepal Compact,” the US Embassy said on Tuesday.
It should be recalled that the Legislature-Parliament on February 22, 2022, endorsed the MCC Nepal Compact with the interpretative declaration.
The then Finance Minister Janardan Sharma proposed a 12-point interpretative declaration incorporating the questions raised about the MCC agreement, which was endorsed by the Parliament along with the MCC.
The meeting ratified the $500 million grant compact amidst obstruction by the main opposition CPN-UML.
Meanwhile, Cameron Alford, the Vice President of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Operations Department, arrived in Kathmandu this evening on the occasion of MCC’s Entry Into Force (EIF) day, which falls on August 30, 2023.
This day marks the official commencement of the MCC agreement’s implementation in Nepal.
The Board of Directors meeting of the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal (MCA-Nepal), the entity responsible for overseeing MCC’s grant project in Nepal, has unanimously greenlit the project’s execution from August 30 onward.
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